


Dense

by pompiian



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Actually made by me for once, Aged Up, F/M, Kel and Sunny wingmen for each other, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sunny is dumb, kind of, overuse of dramatic pauses, post true ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:48:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28914120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pompiian/pseuds/pompiian
Summary: (shit title i know.)While Sunny wasn’t one for acting on his suspicions, even he had to admit that this was getting ridiculous.For the past week, Kel had been acting very un-Kel like.Weirdly enough, it almost always happens around Aubrey.Now, Sunny wasn’t the best at coming to conclusions, but there’s almost no way he can be wrong about this. The signs all point to it, Sunny has never been so sure in his life.Kel hates Aubrey.
Relationships: Aubrey/Kel (OMORI), Basil/Sunny (OMORI), Kel & Sunny (OMORI), Past Aubrey/Sunny
Comments: 34
Kudos: 283





	1. Suspicion

**Author's Note:**

> no, this isnt another ayo the pizza fic.
> 
> i actually wrote something for once!! i saw that there was a boring lack of aubrey/kel, so i decided to change that! 
> 
> anyways yeah, enjoy

While Sunny wasn’t one for acting on his suspicions, even he had to admit that this was getting ridiculous.

The problem started with Kel, because of course it did, he’s Kel.

For the past week, Kel had been acting very un-Kel like. He’s been fidgety, and not like the fidgety he’d get when he’s itching to go out and play, but more...nervous. He’s been stuttering a lot more too, tripping up on his words until he’s almost incomprehensible. Worst of all, his face has been flushing, turning his tan skin the most concerning rosy hue, that Hero once thought he had a fever. 

Weirdly enough, it almost always happens around Aubrey. 

Now, Sunny wasn’t the best at coming to conclusions, but there’s almost no way he can be wrong about this. The signs all point to it, Sunny has never been so sure in his life. 

Kel hates Aubrey.

Don’t get him wrong, Sunny was reluctant to accept it, too. His own best friend hating another one of his best friends, despite all they’ve been through, was a hard pill to swallow. There’s no other way to see it, no matter how hard Sunny tried to.

At the start, Sunny had no idea what to do with this newfound knowledge. He had gone to Basil to ask for suggestions, but all he did was look at him with sympathy and ruffled his hair, shaking his head. Sunny had gone home with even more questions and a weird fluttery feeling in his chest. He’ll investigate that later.

Was there something he was missing? Why did Basil look at him like he knew something more? Sunny paid the questions no mind. 

If Basil won't help him, then he’ll just have to go to the source. 

—————————————————

That night, Sunny had conducted a plan. 

Hero had sent a text in the groupchat only a couple days prior, asking if anyone was willing to have a picnic with him on his first day back home. His classes just recently let up for the summer, and it had been a long time since the whole group got together since Sunny had moved back to Faraway Town during his gap year last fall.

Everyone had agreed unsurprisingly, as everyone seemed to miss having Hero around to father them, despite how much they used to whine about it when they were younger. Unbenounced to them though, Sunny was cooking up a plan to get Kel to admit his dirty secret, and hopefully get him to like Aubrey again. 

Therapy Squad

10:24 PM-

Hero: We still on for tomorrow? 

Aubrey: HELL YEAH!!!

Basil: no swearing, aubrey..

Basil: and yes, hero! i'm really looking forward to it! :D

Kel: me too!!! i'm definitely taller than u now hero! i can feel it!

Hero: You wish!

Aubrey: Five bucks Kel’s still an inch shorter and cries like he did last year

You: Bet. 15.

Basil: hi sunny!! :D

Kel: SUNNYYYY 

Kel: U HAVEN’T SAID ANYTHING FOR THE WHOLE DAY AND THE FIRST THING U DO IS MAKE A BET ON ME 

You: :)

Kel: at least i have u basil..

Basil: i bet 20! 

Kel: BASSILLLL

Basil: hehehe

Aubrey: LOL 

Kel: HEROO THEY R BULLYING MEEE MAKE THEM STOP

Hero: What am I supposed to do about it? 

Kel: IDKK?? UR THE DAD FRIEND

Hero: sigh 

Hero: Stop betting on Kel, guys. 

Kel: thank youuuu

Hero: If anything, you’d guys are just wasting money. Kel’s definitely shorter. 

You: lol

Aubrey: ASDJFJGKGFL

Kel: HEROOO 

Aubrey: LOLLL EVEN YOUR OWN BROTHER

Basil: it’s okay, kel! being short isn’t a bad thing! 

You: There’s been worse things.

Kel: I’M NOT EVEN THAT SHORT IM TALLER THAN BOTH OF U

Kel: AND THAT DOESN’T MAKE ME FEEL ANY BETTER EITHER >:(((

Aubrey: Just face it, kel, ur a shortie

Kel: IM TALLER THAN U TOO???

Aubrey: Nope

Kel: U CANT JUST DENY IT ITS LITERALLY A FACT???

Aubrey: Mmmm

Aubrey: Yeah, no

Kel: ASDJFKJCJKMK

Sunny mutes the chat and turns off his phone, slipping it underneath his pillow. He’s only a little nervous. He’s never had to do this before. Usually Mari was the one to confront someone when something went wrong, but she’s not here anymore. Sunny owes it to her to break out of his shell, to be strong like her. 

Even if he isn’t strong, he’ll try to be. 

———————————————-

The next morning, Sunny mentally prepares himself. 

Today’s the day he confronts Kel about his problems with Aubrey. 

Today’s the day he (hopefully) mends their relationship.

He just hopes it goes well..

He’s rifling through the closet when his phone rings, and he’s shucking on a sweatshirt when he picks it up.

“Good morning, Sunny!” Basil greets, voice as cheerful as ever even over the phone. Even on a day like this, a couple hours from disaster, Basil’s voice still makes him smile. The weird fluttery feeling starts up again.

Weird.

“Good morning.” 

“Are you still planning on telling Kel about your, uh-“ He cuts himself off with a badly hidden snort, “your discovery?” 

Sunny frowns. Why is Basil laughing? This is no laughing matter.

“Yes.” He says solemnly, wringing his hands through the fabric of his sweatshirt. The sudden questioning is making him nervous.

“..and you’re 100% sure?”

Of course he’s sure! All the signs point to it! The flushing, the fidgeting..well, the stuttering is a little harder to figure out, but everything else makes sense, right?

Sunny nods, then stutters out an affirmative once he remembers Basil can’t actually see him. 

Basil sighs over the phone, it sounds fond in a way Sunny isn’t really used to anymore. It must be the phone’s bad microphone.

“Okay then, Sun’,” Basil says, and the nickname makes Sunny flush, just a bit. “good luck!”

They talk for a little more after that, Basil detailing how the orchid flowers he planted last spring bloomed and how they look just like little ducks, Sunny! Aren’t they so cute? 

Just before noon, Basil had been going on about his school workload before he interrupted himself with a loud gasp.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, i’m fine! I just remembered that Polly wanted me to pick up something at the store!” Basil cries, and Sunny can hear the shuffling of Basil rushing around his room on the other end.

“Ah-shit, I gotta call you back, Sunny! I love-“ A soft click cuts Basil’s worried rambling, and Sunny pulls the phone away from his ear to see that the call ended.

Sunny closes his eyes and falls back onto his bed, throwing his arm over his eyes. 

Something really weird is happening, and if he wasn’t so caught up in the Kel situation, he’d drop everything to find out what it was. 

Feelings are weird. 

..Wait a second.

Sunny shoots up from his bed,

Did Basil just say he- 

No, of course he didn’t. He was probably gonna say something else, something totally different. It probably didn’t even involve him. 

But maybe..

His phone pings, and Sunny freezes. 

It’s a photo from Basil, a simple image of a black cat. 

Sunny sighs, relieved. He was probably getting all worked up for nothing. He has more important things to worry about anyway.

Sunny types, then deletes, then retypes. 

11:42 AM- 

Basil sent an image

Basil: this you?

You: :3


	2. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunny finally confronts Kel about his little..problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya!
> 
> back with a new chapter! ill try to post these relatively quickly, so expect some updates soon! 
> 
> anyways, enjoy!

30 minutes before the picnic, Basil visits his apartment. 

“I just came to drop off some canvases, since I know you’ve been getting back into drawing again.” He says, setting down a large bag onto the coffee table. Reusable of course, Basil wouldn’t touch a plastic bag with a 1,000 foot poll. 

Basil isn’t wrong though. Ever since he came clean about the incident, he’s been passing the time by filling up previously sparse sketchbooks with colorful characters in a strange world. He used to be invested in art when he was younger, but when he received the violin, his life had been enveloped by strings and music sheets that there was almost no time to sit down and doodle. 

Basil was really the only one who knew he used to draw aside from Mari. Sunny was too timid at the time to want to show his drawings to the rest of his friends, so he normally kept it between them. He liked it like this, he liked having something only he and Basil knew about. It made him feel special in a way. 

Now that Basil is an adult and has access to adult things, such as a credit card, he’s more than happy to buy random art supplies and just send it Sunny’s way. In return, Sunny showcases his sketchbooks and paintings. Basil always encouraged him to post his work somewhere, and he even set up a Snapstagram for him, but Sunny prefers to keep it private. It’s more special this way. He’ll occasionally post a mediocre painting and leave it at that, but he saves his best work for his best friend. 

“You really don’t have to do this, you know.” Sunny says. Basil just shrugs, like he isn’t spending all of his minimum wage as a florist on supplies he doesn’t even use for himself. 

“I don’t have to, but I want to! There’s a difference!” He grins, patting his shoulder. He settles down next to Sunny on the couch, shoulders touching. “C’mere, I got you that little watercolor palette you were obsessing over.” 

As Basil went on about the different materials he had brought, Sunny couldn’t help but let his mind trail back to the picnic. 

If he really wanted this to work, he’d need Kel alone. Aubrey and Hero being there would throw him off. He’s already worried about just confronting Kel on his own, so if 2 other people were present, he probably wouldn’t be able to do it. Not to mention the fact that if Aubrey knew, she’d probably be pissed out of her mind…

“..right, Sunny?” Basil asks, turning to face him. 

_Ah, I wasn’t listening.._

“Y-yeah..” He stutters out, but Basil is less than convinced. He fixes Sunny a worried look. 

“You’re thinking about the Kel thing, aren’t you?” Basil sees right through him. It’s almost a little scary about how perceptive he is. Sunny can’t keep a secret from him, even if he wanted to. 

Sunny doesn’t answer, but Basil seems to know his response anyway. He sighs, adjusting himself to face Sunny directly. 

“Does it really bug you that much?” He sets a hand on top of Sunny’s, “If you want, I can do it for you?” 

Sunny shakes his head. This is something he has to do. He promised himself he’d stop hiding behind others when he left the hospital, and now is the best time to do it. 

Basil frowns, eyes warm and concerned as they look for any trace of self doubt. All he sees is determination. 

He lets out a giggle. What was he thinking? Of course Sunny would want to do this! He cares too much to let someone else take care of it. 

_He really is amazing, isn’t he?_

Setting his hands atop Sunny’s shoulders, he gives him a gentle shake, 

“You can do this! I believe in you!” He yells, grinning wide, “Say it! Say you can do this!”

“I can do this..” Sunny mumbles.

“Louder!!”

“I CAN DO THIS!!” Sunny shouts, and Basil pulls him into a hug, squeezing him tight. 

Basil’s hugs are always especially comforting; gentle but strong arms wrapped around his waist, the encompassing warmth that surrounds him, the subtle scent of flowers wafting off of him and into the air, all melding together into the most cathartic experience. 

This man is a treasure.

“It’ll be okay, Sunny.” Basil breaths into his neck, tickling the skin. 

Sunny drops his head onto Basil’s shoulder, pulling him closer.

_I can do this…_

______________________

He can’t do this. 

He’s sitting with the rest of the friend group on a standard picnic blanket. Hero and Aubrey are quietly chatting about college life. Aubrey had decided to major in psychology once she graduated highschool, and to her surprise, Hero wanted to hear all about it. Collective trauma does that, he guesses. 

Basil seems to be content being alone. He’s leaning against a nearby tree, a book in his lap and a plate of Hero’s cookies beside him. The wind occasionally tuffs his hair as he slowly flips through the pages. He looks oddly peaceful, like he’s lost in his own little world. Sunny desperately wants to join him. 

And he would’ve-

If he wasn’t currently panicking. 

Kel had sat himself by Sunny’s side and started talking excitedly about whatever seemed to be on his mind. He talked too fast for Sunny to really pick up on anything, but even then, Sunny was barely trying to listen.

_What was I even thinking? I can barely talk to strangers without going brain dead! What would I even say? “Oh hey, maybe you shouldn’t dislike Aubrey!” Who even says that? This was such a stupid idea, i’m totally gonna die here. I’m gonna die here and my gravestone gonna say some lame garbage like ‘died from being too big of a wimp’ and everyones gonna laugh and-_

“..ny?” 

Sunny whips his head up to see Kel’s concerned face. Ah, crap. 

“You doing okay there, dude? You look super stressed out.” Kel asks, tilting his head. 

Damn, he must’ve been too obvious. He looks down at his hands, and finds that they’re shaking. 

_Definitely obvious. Damn you, hands._

“...might be sick? I can ask Hero if he can-”

“NO!” 

Kel blinks, and Sunny already knows he messed up. 

Sunny never raises his voice. The loudest he’ll go is probably a sneeze, and even those are pretty quiet. So if he raised his voice now, Kel would definitely be suspicious. 

“Uh, I mean,” Sunny’s good at coming up with excuses. He can do this. “Hero’s talking to Aubrey, and I don’t really want to disturb them..” He trails off. That’s believable enough right?

“Are you sure? I’m sure he’d be happy to help yo-” Kel starts, and Sunny really has to end this. Hero can’t know about it, it’d cause too much trouble, and if Aubrey would find out.. 

Oh god, if Aubrey found out..

It’d be a total disaster. They’d fight almost every day, or worse, would never even talk to each other again. Sunny can’t handle that, not after they just started getting closer. 

It’s up to him..

“Come with me.” Sunny blurts, then stands up and drags Kel away.

Sunny passes by Basil, who just smiles and gives him a thumbs up, before returning back to his book. Sunny’s heart flips. 

There it is again.

Brushing the thought away, he whisks Kel away to an area shrouded with trees. The more hidden the better. Can’t have anyone else knowing.

As soon as Sunny reached a spot he deemed adequate, he released Kel’s wrist. It was heavily shaded, little bits of sunlight peeking out from between the leaves to light up the ground below. The faint sound of birds chirping filled the air as Sunny fixed Kel the most serious glare. 

All that was left now is to tell him. 

Kel clears his throat awkwardly, clearly nervous. 

“So,” He mutters, wanting to fill the silence, “What’d you bring me here for? Must be important if you’re willing to drag me all the way over here..” 

Sunny can feel his breathing pick up speed and his hands go clammy.

_Are you serious? Right now? C’mon, Sunny, pull yourself together. You’ve been through so much worse, and you’re freezing up over this? Pathetic. You can’t even handle a simple get together without making it weird, can you?_

“Sunny are you sure you’re okay?” Kel asks, but Sunny’s too far gone, his mind has already clouded over. 

_And now look at what you’ve done, he’s worried about you. You really ruin everything don’t you, making everyone fuss over you like you’re a child, coddle you like some kind of baby._

“Sunny?” Kel attempts to reach out to him, but Sunny backs away. His back hits a tree, and his legs go weak, sliding down to the ground.

_You’re not a kid anymore, Sunny. You’re 19 years old, and yet here you are acting like you’re 12. Mari isn’t around to baby you anymore. If she were here she’d tell you to grow the fuck up._

“That’s it, I'm getting Hero.” 

_GROW UP._

“Wait here.” 

**_GROW UP._ **

Kel moves to leave, but Sunny grabs his hand, stilling him. 

“I know your secret.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry to leave yall on such a cliffhanger, i thrive on being as dramatic as possible
> 
> real talk, thank you for all your support! its kind of my first time posting any of my writings excluding that one time i will not mention, so i was a little surprised on how well received this was! you guys are great and i love you! mwah


End file.
